Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

At the last supper in the Upper Room, Jesus speaks to the disciples. In Aramaic the word for peace is shlama. For Jewish Christians they probably used the Hebrew, Shalom. In Greek it is Erene or the place where the soul is at rest.

Jesus promises the disciples and all of us, the peace that passes all understanding. This peace is hard to grasp because it is not of this world. The world at peace is a world or family that are not fighting with one another. God’s peace is our contentment, fulfillment, completeness, soundness, satisfaction, prosperity, it is a divine dose of good or wellbeing. It brings us to wholeness of self and in harmony with God.

It has been my goal as your pastor these eleven years that God will wash you in all that is good and bring you into relationship with Jesus Christ. While some churches offer a superficial peace by setting off endorphins in your brain, Jesus offers you a lasting peace that comes through faith, worship, and prayer.

Those of us who do morning prayer together feel a bond through scripture and prayer. We feel God’s peace in our hearts and in community. This happens at noon day prayer on Wednesdays, at 8:00 in Rite I worship, at 10:00 in Rite II worship, and in community at the coffee hour. None of this could happen if Aninna, Sue, the lay ministers and the breakfast team did not give of themselves.

Our ministries like Prayer Shawl, Garden of Grace, Thrift Shop, EFM, Bible Study, St. Hilda’s Guild, Social Justice, HIHI, and Spirituality all bring us to peace in community. We are not a social service business, We bring people to God by bringing them the love and peace of Jesus Christ. We receive the goodness of God when we join together in God’s name in faith.

The world may criticize mistakes that we have done, but God keeps on sending the Holy Spirit to bring us from brokenness to wholeness and from death to life. Nothing is more important to this old grandpa then to bring the love and peace of God to the next generation. Our Nursery school children and our Sunday school children, and our own children and grandchildren are precious to us. Think of the love you have for the children and multiply it by infinity, and you might get a tiny sense of God’s love for you and God’s desire for you to have the peace that passes all understanding. Jesus will atone for the sins of the disciples in the upper room and for the sins of all mankind by his death on a cross and his resurrection on Easter. May we give all glory and praise to God for all that God has done, all that God is doing, and all that God will do. Jesus gives the promise of peace to all who believe.

?

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan